Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has vowed to sign the renegotiated NAFTA agreement only if it contains the cultural exemption clause and a dispute resolution mechanism.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th September, 2018) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has vowed to sign the renegotiated NAFTA agreement only if it contains the cultural exemption clause and a dispute resolution mechanism.
The prime minister pointed out that it would be unacceptable for Canada if its media outlets were bought by US companies. The current version of the NAFTA agreement protects Canada's publishing and broadcasting industries from the US ones.
"It is inconceivable to Canadians that an American network might buy Canadian media affiliates, whether it's newspapers or tv stations or TV networks. It would be a giving up of our sovereignty and our identity and that is something that we will simply not accept ... We've made it very clear that defending that cultural exemption is something fundamental to Canadians," Trudeau told reporters on late Tuesday.
The prime minister also insisted on the preservation of the dispute resolution mechanism anchored in the Chapter 19 of the NAFTA agreement, which allows for independent panels to resolve conflicts between companies of the bloc's member states.
"We've said from the very beginning that we need a dispute resolution mechanism, like Chapter 19 [of the current agreement], and we will hold firm on that ... We will not sign a deal that is bad for Canadians and, quite frankly, not having a Chapter 19 to ensure that the rules are followed would be bad for Canadians," Trudeau said.
Canada, Mexico and the United States have been engaged in talks to modernize the agreement for over a year at US President Donald Trump's initiative. On Saturday, Trump threatened to eject Canada from the possible new NAFTA deal if the sides failed to reach a fair agreement.
